E – Commerce is defined as the extensive use of computer networks in conjunction with the internet to improve institutional performance; as a way of developing the ways of new business strategies of retail online business. This has revolutionized business practices in many countries. It all started with the arrival of the internet when the online and internet marketing started evolving, after the web developed into a much readable and user friendly mode 1.0; e – commerce started gaining its peak into the market. Since its introduction, retail business has been seeking out every opportunity to capitalize on the power and potential of the internet. The internet has developed in the past in a tremendous speed thus making it easy for people to be able to interact with each other along with adding something new to the web. The marketing technology of e – commerce has sprung to a very high level and advertisement has been made easily accessible thus reaching everybody. E – Commerce has also developed from modest versions to the latest 3.0 versions or mode, despite its extensive use, e – commerce has been gradual.

Hawk intimates that prior to 1990; e – commerce was virtually inexistent in most parts of the world, currently; however most Businesses have adopted e-commerce and many organizations view it as the future tool for organizational development. Similarly in the 1990s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) became an important platform in planning and business development.

According to Farrokhnia and Richards Introduction of the internet in early 1990s improved the ease of communication thus ushering in a new digital age. However, in the early days only a few corporations could afford the internet and it was mainly used for important communication thus marking the beginning of e – commerce. During the 2000s, rapid technological advances increased the affordability of computers and the internet and businesses began using ICT to communicate with their customers.

From governments to multinational companies to one – person start – ups, e – commerce is increasingly viewed as a key modality of the future. Ease of transaction, widening markets and decreased overheads are factors that make e – commerce solutions more and more attractive, as evident with the growth of online sales.

Thousands of development organizations have gone online in the past five years, having realized the importance of the internet for the exchange and distribution of information. With the rise in e – commerce activities over the internet and the subsequent decline in development aid over the past five years, development organizations may be able to tap into this new business modality to offset their operating costs. This has brought users relevant and even localized product advertisement. The development of cheaper personal computers coupled with the increased use of electronics in the current economy has enabled small and medium enterprises to adopt e – commerce into their operations. Businesses in the current market use e – commerce for more than just communication.

E – Commerce specifically looks at tapping into the intellectual outputs that these organizations could sell online. The issues surrounding this latest internet phenomenon are examined by drawing from the experiences of development organizations that have been selling goods online. The issues that arise can provide experience for formulating strategic approaches to the use of e – commerce by development organizations.

For this reason, efforts have been made to distinguish between the issues particular to this question and those issues associated with the use of the internet by users from developing countries (such as language barriers, access to technology, training and social barriers). Furthermore, certain factors are shared among all online retailers, regardless of whether they come from the public or private sector. The encouraging growth in e – commerce activity in the private sector over the past three years leads to the question of whether these experiences can be extended to other sectors of society. The future of e – commerce remains shrouded in mystery because different scholars have varied opinions. Hawk suggests that the number of businesses using e – commerce is bound to increase as long as ICT and other technology improve. The common consensus is that use of ICT is bound to improve the manner in which business is conducted. Scholars believe that in the future, more companies will be training via the internet; hence more transaction will be electronic..

It is important to note that e – commerce entails the use of computer networks to improve organizational performance. E – Commerce was primarily developed in the early 1990s together with development of ICT and over time, organizations and individuals have adopted the use of e – commerce to improve aspects such as communication, marketing and distribution. It is also viewed as an instrument that is bound to improve business transactions globally. But, however, due to the start of so many new things in this field it can be said that E – Commerce has a long way to go till we reach the destination, which might be in a long run for now.